Surrounded by water.

We did the hop on hop off bus. It hits all the highlights. Gives you a great overview. The old Gothic area is great for lunch. Remember not to put anything on the back of your chair as kids on bikes will spin past and grabbed purses and backpacks. I think that Rambia is overrated. When we were there was like walking in the shopping mall at Christmas time.

It's about 45 minutes from the cruise terminal to the gardens. I know what you mean about getting dragged around to gardens. Not exactly top 10 things to do in my life but as my wife is an avid gardener I've seen a few in our travels. Butchart Gardens is probably one of the better ones. I think you can burn up a couple hours there fairly easily. Not sure if you're heading there soon but it's fairly early in the season for that garden.